Fuse 8 n’ Kate: The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer

Tomi Ungerer died just this past year on February 9th so it seemed logical to me that we should try to do one of his books on the show. This begs the inevitable question, which one should we do? I had so many to consider. Crictor? The Beast of Monsieur Racine? Moon Man? I decided to go with the only one I ever saw adapted by Weston Woods. In the course of our talk we discuss whether or not giving birth is an adequate excuse for saying you have a “connection” to someone, who invented the name “blunderbuss”, and why this book is like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. I just find it interesting that Kate pointed out that these kids may all be attending a robber school by the end of the book.

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– Just so you get a sense of it, this is the massive collection Phaidon produced of many of Mr. Ungerer’s out-of-print titles. It is one of my family’s most prized possessions. My son LOVES it.

– Here’s the quote they added to the beginning of the book.

– “They’re not just three robbers. They are three FIERCE robbers.”

– See, this is why you don’t wear corsets, people. If Kate was shocked by this then she should be grateful I didn’t show her images from Tomi Ungerer’s Fornicon. I thought about putting some here in this post but, uh . . . yeah, no. NSFW indeed.

– Is a pepper blower actually a thing? I did a bit of research on my end, and I don’t think that it is. As far as I’m concerned, Ungerer made it up.

– Look at how the color makes the blunderpuss the focal point.

– “When is there ever a fun aunt?” Okay, people. Lay ’em on me. Who’s the coolest of them all? This was my vote:

– Our hero, ladies and germs: The Castle Real Estate Agent. “Now what can I do to get you fellas into this castle?”

– My theory is that the robbers only know how to sew one thing and that’s why the kids match them.

Elizabeth Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos. If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here.

Betsy Bird is the Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She's reviewed for The New York Times and Kirkus, writes articles for Horn Book and SLJ, and wrote the picture book Giant Dance Party. You can contact her at Fusenumber8@gmail.com or follow her on . . .